The verification test saw fighter and air-to-air refueling aircraft from France, Spain and Türkiye come together over Romania, improving the readiness and interoperability of NATO IAMD alongside additional assets such as surface-based air and missile defence (SBAMD) systems. During the mission, NATO Allied Air Command via the Combined Air Operations Centre at Torrejón oversaw the procedural test analysing how these assets can be brought to work together efficiently.
“NATO IAMD provides a highly responsive, time-critical and persistent capability to achieve a desired level of control of the air, this ensures the Alliance is able to achieve freedom of action to conduct the full range of its missions, safeguarding and protecting Alliance territory,” said Brigadier General Christoph Pliet, Deputy Chief of Staff Operations at Allied Air Command. “This mission was extremely beneficial for all participating air forces to execute and achieve integration and interoperability,” he added.
Once activated, SBAMD units provide their data into the NATO IAMD network which comprises national and NATO-provided sensors, command and control assets, and weapons systems. This joint and combined defensive network compiles the data received into one recognised air and missile picture.
“The participating fighter jets operated out of their home or deployed bases and flew in to Romania with the help of critical air-to-air refueling aircraft and integrated with in-place SBAMD units. This complex mission demonstrated that NATO and its Allies are capable of conducting long-range flexible deterrence options in addition to maintaining an overall posture ready to deter and defend every inch of NATO territory,” General Pliet added.
NATO IAMD is a defensive component of the Alliance’s Joint Air Power, which aims to ensure the stability and security of NATO airspace by coordinating, controlling and exploiting the air domain. It is an essential, continuous mission in peacetime, crisis and conflict, conducted using a 360-degree approach across NATO territory, and is prepared to address the full spectrum of threats.
